Ex-Ireland stars blame Jacques Nienaber for national team’s ‘regression’ as Leinster stint has had ‘unforeseen consequences’
Ireland players dejected following France defeat and Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber.
Former Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber has once again found himself in the firing line over Ireland’s current woes, despite having no actual involvement in the national team.
The 53-year-old joined the Irish system following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, signing for Leinster as their senior coach, but his influence on Andy Farrell’s side has been heavily discussed.
Since arriving at the province, Nienaber has brought in his famed defence, which played a key role in South Africa’s back-to-back World Cup triumphs.
However, some believe that it has negatively impacted Ireland, who take the majority of their squad from Leinster.
Leinster’s lack of fluency
The Dublin-based outfit’s attack has not been as fluent over the past three seasons and that lack of rhythm and accuracy with ball in hand has also been prevalent in the national side.
On Virgin Media Sport, host Joe Molloy kicked off the conversation by linking Leinster’s change in style to Ireland’s struggles.
“Joe Schmidt arrived at Leinster and he said: ‘We’re going to become the best passing team in Europe’. Those passes went to the right part of the body, at the right time and at the right pace – that buys everyone time, it speeds up everything. That makes Ireland what they can be under Farrell,” Molloy said.
“Now I’m not saying it’s Jacques Nienaber’s fault, I can’t stress that enough, but it is notable in the last two or three years, there’s been a change in emphasis at Leinster.
“Even in year one of Nienaber they came and said: ‘Look, we probably did spend a little more time on defence as opposed to honing the attack’.
“They’re bulk suppliers and it’s hard not to feel – again it’s Nienaber’s prerogative, Leinster’s prerogative – that a sloppiness, which Schmidt would never have allowed, has just been allowed to fester when it comes to the basics that are essential for a team of Ireland’s size.”
Former Ireland star Shane Horgan responded and claimed that Nienaber’s arrival has indeed had an unintended negative impact on Farrell’s men.
“It’s a very fair point and it’s maybe an unforeseen consequence for Nienaber when he did that,” Horgan said. “Somewhere like South Africa where everybody grows up with the ball in their hands and never stops passing the ball, they don’t have to work as hard or it’s a reinforcement of the skill set that is ingrained in them.
“Ireland players don’t naturally have that. You’re right, Joe Schmidt came in and changed everything. We thought we were good passers. Leinster at the time were all about passing and he comes in, ‘you’re not good enough’, and we weren’t.
“I think you’re seeing that through Leinster and through Ireland, and the consequences of that is more than just the catch and the pass.
“If you look at the alignment of all the Ireland players, one of the big issues was Ireland weren’t going to the right man or putting them through the hole because everybody’s too flat.
“That’s because they’re nervous on the pass and they’re nervous of their pace. That’s the difference between the French side and the Ireland side.
“They’re so comfortable with their pace, they’re so fast, at this level even Ireland’s fastest players don’t look like the athletes that France have.”
Coincidence or Nienaber partly to blame?
Fellow ex-Ireland back Rob Kearney agreed with Horgan and also pointed to the influence of Nienaber’s predecessor at Leinster, Stuart Lancaster, who perfected their attacking structure.
That would form the basis of Ireland’s game which took them to the top of the World Rugby rankings ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
A debate has therefore raged over whether the national team’s recent drop-off is purely coincidental or that Nienaber is partly to blame, and Kearney believes that it is the latter.
“Stick that on another level and a guy we’ve not mentioned – Stuart Lancaster. Joe came in and made us a really good passing team, Stuart came in and ensured that our forwards were able to ball play just as good as the backs,” he said.
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“That’s why we got to see the Leinster and Ireland shape where there were multiple options at the line at any given time.
“Ireland are reliant on the provincial coaches and players doing their basic ball skills all the way throughout the year, so when they come into camp their catch-pass is at a certain level.
“It’s almost too late for international coaches at that stage. It needs to happen in the provincial day-to-day. I do think that Leinster, in particular, their attack and handling has regressed since Stuart Lancaster left.”
